Snatches of Daylight
by Yanagi Uxinta
Summary: A series of Night World drabbles, mostly Rashel-centric. Other soulmates will feature throughout various stories. Spoilers for Strange Fate and the stories on Lisa's website.
1. Chapter 1

So, this is basically a collection of drabbles that either aren't big enough for their own stories, or are outtakes (so to speak) from other stories. Each chapter will have a few different drabbles of varying lengths, updated whenever I've got a few completed ones together.

Spoilers for _Strange Fate_ and _Thicker Than Water_ from the outset!

Mini-summaries:

1: Rashel reflects on why being half-shifter shouldn't really have surprised her.

2: When Rashel and Quinn first arrive at Circle Daybreak, they run into its least likely member.

3: A cut from chapter two of _These Cuts and Bruises_. The chapter actually started as a drabble, then connected too well to that story to pass up.

* * *

It made sense, now that she knew who she was. What she was. Not just a twin, but half-shifter. A panther.

Keller was trying to teach her how to shift. They hadn't managed it yet, but she'd felt _something_ the last time they'd tried. She saw it the same as her sword training: a skill that would take time and effort to master. It had taken her five years to become as good as she was, and she'd only had her sensei for three and a half of them. The rest she'd picked up as she went along, from others or her own trial and error. She was still learning now, in fact. If she could have the patience for that, then she could have the same patience for shifting.

All the little things she'd noticed growing up, even when her mother was alive and life was normal, made more sense. How she'd always known when Aunt Corinne had been visiting while she was at Timmy's or in kindergarten, because she could smell her when she came home. Not a perfume or deodorant either – something that was just her. It was the same for when Mom's friends and their children had been around. She always knew who had been in the house while she was out, even the children too young to even think of perfume or cologne. How she'd always heard every conversation in her various houses – never homes, houses – unless the television was on loud or she was in the shower.

As a child, she'd just thought everyone lived like that until she told her Mom how she always knew who'd been visiting, or asked about a conversation she'd had with Aunt Corinne in the evening when she was upstairs in bed. Then she'd learned that she had very good hearing, and sense of smell. She'd put her perfect vision down to good genes and luck.

Turned out she'd been half right, no luck required.

It had saved her a couple of times. She'd always thought of herself as a light sleeper – any stray noise that didn't fit would wake her up. It was the reason she had survived while her sensei was assassinated. It had been Keller who pointed out how cats slept. Even in a deep sleep, their ears twitch at every sound. There is always a part of them alert for danger.

As Daphne had said when she found out, it explained the way she walked too. Why she walked like 'one of them'. She'd always been able to sneak up on people as a child, for fun. It had been even more useful when she started to actively hunt vampires. She'd told herself her skill at blending into the shadows to avoid cars and pedestrians had been a practiced skill, but... had she ever had that many close calls, even when she was learning? Maybe she'd just learned how not to draw attention to herself, rather than altering the way she walked.

It also explained why she liked liver. That or she was just weird. Daphne thought the latter.

* * *

Ash was at Thierry's mansion when Quinn arrived. He didn't realise he had the human girl with him until the made vampire had left a meeting with Thierry, human in tow.

Quinn stopped dead when he spotted Ash lounging in the window seat, waiting for him. He wanted to find out what the Redfern heir could possibly want with an Elder and, unbeknownst to most, leader of Circle Daybreak. Then he spotted the girl behind him, and his ever-changing eyes dropped to their clasped hands.

Quinn looked tense, ready for a fight. His human's hand was resting on the hilt of a knife stuck through her waistband, her stance shifting subtly to something steadier. A fighter, then.

All Ash said when he looked back up with a sigh was, 'you too?'

It was worth it for the look on Quinn's face.

' _That's_ why you're here?' He asked.

Ash nodded, settling himself more comfortably on the window seat. 'Remember when I went to find my sisters and I said I'd killed the old lady and the werewolf, and that no humans were involved? Yeah,' he said as Quinn stared in disbelief.

'So you didn't kill them?'

'Nope!' He said with fake cheer. 'Sorry for lying,' he added in a tone that said he was completely unrepentant. 'The crazy 'wolf killed my Aunt, and my very human, very much involved-in-the-whole-thing soulmate killed the werewolf. With some help from a silver knife and an exploding car.' The girl's eyebrows rose and for a moment he thought she looked impressed. He smiled and gestured around himself to the house in general. 'I'd introduce you to Mary-Lynette Carter, but she decided not to come along. I've some things to do first, it seems.' Instead he nodded at the human girl standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Quinn. He couldn't read her expression – or her mind, for that matter. Must be resistant – but she had to be confused. 'Your turn.'

That jolted Quinn out of his shock. He looked at the girl for a moment, as if checking it was alright. 'Rashel, this is Ash Redfern. One of Hunter's descendents. He grew up on an enclave. Ash, this is Rashel Jordan. She i- _was_ a vampire hunter. The Cat, actually. We were trying to kill each other two days ago.'

Ash stared. Then stared some more. Finally he started laughing and couldn't quite stop. 'Oh, oh that's just perfect. You have my condolences,' he said when he managed to breathe. He wasn't quite sure which of them he was talking to.

Imagine. Quinn the dreadful, soulmates with the deadliest vampire hunter in history. He thought he'd had it bad with M'Lyn, when he was still trying to fight off the soulmate principle.

He expected Quinn to be mad. Instead he looked faintly resigned to it all. 'Glad you're enjoying yourself,' he said wearily. Now that Ash paid attention, they both looked exhausted, and Rashel was holding herself a little stiffly. Injured, maybe. What he could see of the ends of her hair looked crispy.

'So, what happened with you two?'

They glanced at each other again. Ash knew telepathy when he saw it, and pushed down a pang at the mental ban on contacting Mary-Lynette. Not that he could actually _speak_ to her at such long range, but emotions could still carry.

'That's a long story. I'll fill you in later, but the short version is we ended up on an enclave and inside a burning house. We're going to the witches now. Some of Thierry's people patched us up on the way in, but Rashel was burned pretty badly.'

That explained the damaged hair and stiff posture. 'I'll see you later then. There's some others you should meet as well. I lied about James too.' He beamed when Quinn shot him a disgruntled look. 'Welcome to the soulmate support group!' He directed that more at Rashel, who fought a losing battle with a smile.

They turned and headed down the hall, Quinn's arm around her – not her shoulders, but low around her waist. Probably avoiding the burns.

Ash stood and stretched in one motion, then shook himself and headed for the games' room. James and Poppy had returned to Vegas after dropping Poppy's suicidally brave brother back home. With Harman help, they had quickly proven Poppy's status as a lost witch, thus establishing her as a legitimate member of the Night World. Apparently Circle Daybreak had approached them, offering a safe place to stay. Then Thea had turned up, looking for him, with a human boy called Eric about a month after Ash had decided to find the sources of these 'Circle Daybreak' rumours and see what the witches could do for him. Finding out it wasn't witches, but Thierry Descouedres of all people was running it had been a shock, but in hindsight it made sense. Perfect cover, really. And hey, he got to stay in Vegas whenever he wanted. It helped that he'd spent a lot of time here in the past, and there was a lot to make up for in this single city alone. He'd started with Poppy and James, though he was pretty sure Poppy hadn't forgiven him. Then Thea, for being an ass in general. He'd travelled around of course – even he couldn't stay in Vegas for too long without getting restless. Spent some time in Pennsylvania around Christmas. He'd only returned to Vegas a few weeks ago.

Now this. Quinn and The Cat. It was a bit of a relief that all he had to make up for with these two was a spot of lying, done to protect people in the first place.

Either way, he felt it was his solemn duty to inform the other assembled soulmates that they had new members. And if the news that it was Quinn would make James gawp like an idiot, well, he had to get his kicks somewhere. M'Lyn hadn't banned him from having fun, after all.

* * *

'If I had a dollar for the number of times I've skewered a vampire because they thought they'd influenced me and came close enough to try and bite me, I could commission another bokken.'

Quinn shook with silent laughter. 'I'm not surprised. Though that does remind me: how did you afford the first one? A blade like that had to be expensive.'

Rashel smiled. He could see the curve of her cheek lift in the dim light. 'I had day jobs as well you know. Each home I went to, first priority was finding a part time job. Did odd jobs for neighbours too. Saved up all the pocket, birthday and Christmas money I ever got. How else do you think I got a car?'

Quinn paused. 'Hotwired it?' He chuckled as she spluttered in indignation. She settled for smacking his hand – the easiest part of him to reach.

'I paid for my lessons _and_ my car, thank you very much,' she groused, softening only when he kissed her shoulder in apology.

'I know. And I'm sure you're a good driver,' he said. He raised an eyebrow when she snorted.

'Sure I am. When I'm not using it to run over pissed off Night people and having to hose it down at two in the morning,' she said, patting his hand when his head nodded forward to bump the back of hers in mild exasperation.

'Again, why am I not surprised?' He muttered against the back of her neck. He shifted his hand slightly, sensing another wave of pain starting to build just off centre of her stomach and positioning his hand to make it more bearable.

Rashel barely tensed this time, breathing through the peak of it before the pain ebbed again. Then she gave a soft breath of laughter. 'And _this_ is one benefit of a vampire soulmate I hadn't considered. My own personal heat pack. Much more effective than painkillers.'

'Glad I could be of service,' Quinn said wryly.


	2. Stakes and Microwave Meals (Chapter 2)

A single-drabble chapter this time, as this little idea got away from me.

Rashel encounters more than normal humans during her day job - but how do you balance being a vampire hunter with a shop assistant when the Night World is wandering about your shop?

* * *

'A dime change. Have a nice day. Next, please.'

A basket landed on the counter. A packet of chips, a soda, a few sachets of herbs. Just normal ones – basil, rosemary, that sort of thing. But the ring on the girl's hand caught her attention – a black dahlia.

Rashel looked up with a smile as she started to scan the items in. The girl was the last in the queue, and Sophie was at the back of the store, starting to tidy up before they closed in five minutes.

'Unity,' she said quietly, and the girl looked up sharply. Young – a year or so younger than Rashel. Chestnut brown hair in messy waves and large hazel eyes... and a confident smirk as the surprise passed.

'Unity,' she said. 'I don't recall seeing you around before. New to the area?'

'Yeah, I only moved here two months ago.' True enough so far – and it gave a valid reason for why Rashel hadn't been at any of the witch celebrations for the Solstice or Equinox. She glanced over the girl's shoulder – Sophie was closer, sweeping a brush across the floor with a bored look on her face. 'Lovely sunset we've got,' she said deliberately, with a pointed glance. The girl smiled and nodded, understanding. 'My favourite time of day, twilight.'

Rashel suppressed a glimmer of satisfaction when a haughty look passed over the girl's face.

'Oh, really? I much prefer midnight, myself. Much more exciting.' She held her hand out for the carrier bag Rashel had dropped her things into. Rashel obligingly passed it over and took her money, handing her the change and receipt. 'Merry part and merry meet again,' the girl said by rote, boredom creeping into her expression.

'Merry part,' Rashel replied cheerily, leaning on the counter and watching her go, taking note of her appearance and the car she went to as she walked out. Must just be sixteen – still had her P plates on.

She'd pass the information along to Elliott. Her old contacts in Vegas had told her to search the Lancer leader out when they heard she was moving to Boston. She wasn't much of a witch expert, but he knew a few witch hunters who could scope the girl out, decide how big a threat she was. Only a teenager now, but already with Circle Midnight leanings. Best to keep an eye on that one.

* * *

'Excuse me?'

Rashel turned from restocking the shelves, took in the grey-silver eyes, lithe muscles and brindled hair, and resisted the urge to nail the werewolf in the eye socket with a tin of beans to buy enough time to run for her knife.

Instead she plastered a smile on her face and straightened up from the lower shelves. 'Can I help you?'

'Uh, yeah, please. Do you have any of the lamb's liver ready meals in? I can't see any on the shelf.'

Well, that was one way to satisfy your animal urges, she supposed. 'I can go check in the back for you, if you like?'

'If you wouldn't mind.'

Sophie was at the till, their manager Alex nearby. They should be alright. If the 'wolf was in here looking for liver, he wasn't likely to turn on one of the convenient humans in the store. Besides, she thought as she ducked into the cold room and started searching the stacks; this one seemed to be a law-abiding Night World citizen, not one of the rogues Rashel usually went after.

Still, she'd be keeping her eyes peeled in the local area for any indication of werewolf activity. And if this one kept coming by, then it just made him easier to monitor.

She did wonder as she headed back out, tray full of lamb's liver and onion meals in hand, if she should ask Elliot to try and get copies of the CCTV from her store. Just in case.

'Here you go,' she said, holding the tray out to the werewolf.

'Oh, brilliant,' he said, cheerfully taking two. 'Thanks. I love these you know, make life so much easier.'

Rashel smiled. Humans would take that to mean sticking it in the microwave for five minutes. She knew it meant he wouldn't have to hunt a deer or something – or some _one_ – else tonight. 'Glad I could help. Enjoy.'

'Will do, thanks!'

Being a vampire hunter was an odd job. Saving people with a stake during the night and microwave meals during the day.

* * *

Wine everywhere. Great.

Rashel waved away Sophie's apologies and went to get the mop and bucket. The stack of wine boxes had been unsteady on its set of wheels anyway, it wasn't really anyone's fault – and at least it had only been one bottle. It could have easily been four.

She was mopping up and wondering how many cycles of mopping and drying it would take before the floor would stop feeling sticky when someone walked behind her. What was odd was that she didn't hear them – just felt that telltale disturbance of air that meant someone was there.

She glanced behind herself and registered two things, the thoughts so close they almost overlapped: _martial artist_ and _vampire_.

She saw that before she saw the expensive clothes he wore or even the colour of his black hair. All those little details filed away as she studied his back from the corner of her eye. Not exactly short, but he was only her height. Sunglasses – she could see the arm. His clothes were fitted perfectly – which gave her a clear view of his flat, lithe muscles. He moved... like her, really. Absolute control, even as he idly swung a shopping basket with several packets of microwave hot dogs in it and looked down the soft drinks aisle. He was looking away from her, so she couldn't see his face.

This was her field of expertise. No pawning this one off on Elliot – but she was in work for another three hours, and no one stayed in here that long. How to track him down after work? A quick glance showed Alex was no where in sight – she could play the star struck teenage girl, ask if she could meet him an hour or so after work, maybe grab a coffee. That would give her time to go home, get changed into her work gear, get out to the location early and ambush him. He was a leech, chances are he wouldn't pass up an easy meal.

What was strange was that he was here at all. Lamia, maybe? They could eat and drink like humans, just didn't need to. Maybe he liked human food as a treat.

She was just about to rest her mop against the shelves and put her plan in motion when the vampire headed into the aisle, and she saw Sophie – silly, cheerful, ignorant Sophie – approach him from within the aisle with hearts in her eyes. Attractive, then.

'Can I help you with anything?' Chirpy, innocent – easy, _easy_ prey.

The vampire turned to look at her, so all Rashel could see was the back of his head. She ground her teeth and continued mopping, listening closely.

'Just grabbing some drinks, thanks.' He had a soft voice, wry. A small pause, then the creak of plastic. Rashel moved, still mopping, to see better. The vampire had hung the basket from the crook of his elbow and was stooping, pulling three six-pack litre bottles of grape juice from the bottom shelf. He stacked them horizontally one on top of each other then picked them up, all without apparent effort. He only seemed to be using two hands to keep the packs balanced, rather than to bear the weight. Sophie's mouth was hanging open.

'These will do. Thanks.' Rashel had the sneaking suspicion the leech was smirking. He walked past Sophie, towards the end of the aisle and turned right, heading for the tills and obscured by the shelves. She still hadn't caught a decent glimpse of his face, and she couldn't go mopping the whole shop floor without someone wondering what the hell she was doing.

Sophie caught sight of her then, and promptly closed her mouth. But she sent an 'oh my _God_ ' glance in the general direction of the tills and fanned herself, eyebrows raising to ask if Rashel had seen him.

Rashel gave a genuinely disappointed grimace – if only Sophie knew she planned to stake the parasite – and shook her head.

Sophie sent a deeply impressed glance towards the tills again before sneaking off to the end of the aisle, peering around it to get another glance.

Resisting the urge to join her – it would be just her luck for Alex to find them like that – Rashel set her mop aside and looked quickly at the aisles closest to her. She was right by the fridges, and – there. A packet of broccoli in with the ready meals. Rashel snatched it up and headed for the produce fridges at the front of the store – and, coincidentally, the tills.

Yet – damn it, luck just wasn't on her side today – he'd gone to the express tills at the front, way ahead of her position. Rashel ditched the broccoli in its place at the end of the aisle and idly started doing standards, tidying it up and straining her ears. Ian was serving him and making small talk, from the way he smiled, but she just couldn't hear anything above the sound of other people in the store, the electronic whirr of the fridges and the beep from the other tills.

Luck really wasn't with her today. All she could do was watch in frustration as the leech paid and headed for the doors, all without looking her way once.

Damn it.

Sighing, she headed back to her mop and bucket, glaring at the drying mark on the floor as if it was its fault. She'd just have to scope the area out for any vampire activity, stay alert, and keep tabs on the Lancers – see if they had any leech activity on their radar and hope she ran into him. That, or hope he came back.

It was small, as supermarkets go, but it'd do. It wasn't like they'd need to keep the girls going for long – a few days of junk food wouldn't kill them, but the vampires would.

Lips twitching, Quinn headed into the building. Warmer than outdoors, but by no means comfortable outside of the depths of summer where air con was a blessing. He snagged a basket just in case and headed in, finding the convenience section quickly. Pizza – too fussy, they'd have to cut it for them. Ready meals – too big, they didn't want the girls eating too much. If any of them turned out resistant to mind control, they wanted them weak enough to not want to try fighting back. Saved them the hassle.

Hot dogs would do. They could put the tranquilisers in some mustard or something. He shovelled several into the basket, not really caring for how many he grabbed. They'd need to restock as they gathered the girls anyway, so as long as he had enough for the first four for a couple of days it would be fine. Ivan and Lily would be doing supply runs as well in the lead up to Sunday and the first procurement.

Food sorted, he headed out of the aisle and glanced up and down the store. He spotted the familiar logos of Pepsi and Fanta and made for them, passing one of the shop girls. Tall, though she was stooping slightly to mop the floor – wine, from the smell of it. Her black hair was tied back in what had been a bun at the start of the day, but had fallen into a knot at the nape of her neck. It wasn't a stylishly messy one either – lopsided, loose tendrils coming loose and the hair tie slowly making a bid for the floor. The girl gave no indication of noticing nor caring about the state of her hair. He stepped around her, silent so as not to startle her – but felt more than saw her freeze just as she passed out of sight.

Ah well. He wasn't going to feel guilty about spooking vermin.

Speaking of which, the one in the drinks aisle had spotted him and was doing a terrible job of disguising her staring.

Quinn wondered which type this one would be – the shy, silent one who would gawk relentlessly until he left, or the one to gather her wits after a while and make conversation. At least the quiet ones he could ignore.

No such luck. As he was scanning the shelves for the cheapest option, the girl straightened a last bottle of pop and turned to him with a big smile.

Wondering exactly how quickly that smile would vanish if he bared his teeth, Quinn bit his tongue and continued looking at the prices as she spoke. The advantages of sunglasses – no one could see where your eyes were focusing.

Six pack of grapefruit juice looked like the best choice.

He fended the girl off with some polite generic response and slid the basket onto his arm, crouching to pull the packs out. Eighteen litres ought to do.

The girl was openly gaping when he stood up with his drinks. He said something to make it clear her service was no longer needed and headed for the tills before she could recover and think of a reason to accompany him.

He went to the express tills – which really were only faster when they were fully staffed. There was only one guy on them right now, but no queue thankfully. Quinn set the bottles down so the man could scan one pack and handed him one of the hot dogs, doing a quick count of the rest in his basket. 'There's fifteen total.'

The man's eyebrow rose. 'Lot of grapefruit juice and hot dogs. You're not having a barbeque in this weather, are you?' The second week of February was hardly the ideal time for an outdoor meal.

Quinn chuckled. 'Not quite. No, we've got a kid's party. My sister sent me out for some cheap food and drink to give them when they're not running riot.'

'Ah. House party?'

Quinn nodded. Technically, yes, if you could call the enclave mansion a 'house'. And most of the slaves for the feast would be teenagers – legally, sub-adult. So technically he wasn't lying much.

The man winced. 'Rather you than me mate.'

Quinn smiled as he handed the money over. He was sure the human wouldn't enjoy their kind of 'kids party'. He pulled the carrier bag of hot dogs over his arm, grabbed his packs of juice and headed for the car.

Three days until Sunday. With any luck they'd grab four a week starting then, and get the last four on the sixteenth of March. That gave them three days to get the last batch to the enclave and set up for the Equinox. Now all he had to do was get Ivan and Lily to stick to the timetable and everything would be fine. He'd get paid a ridiculous amount of money and could drown any tiny whimpers of guilt in it. Maybe he'd get another boat. A sailing one this time, like the old ones. A little reminder of simple, harder times – and where sailing involved more than filling up the tank and steering.

It'd be something to pass the time with. And with eternity stretching out in front of him, a new toy to distract him for a few months was always welcome.


End file.
